Hi,

The uOttawa Library used MRBS and switched to Booked Scheduler open source
version: https://github.com/effgarces/BookedScheduler

Thank you,
Yoo Young

On Tue, Dec 7, 2021 at 1:03 PM Jeremiah Kellogg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Following up on what Sean mentioned, we use MRBS where I work, and it was a
> really great solution for us.  However, I'm not sure it will provide
> exactly what you want because it might be kind of a challenge to add custom
> questions (as far as I know, anyway).  There is a way to add one custom
> dropdown field with established answers, but I think you can only add one,
> and it must be a dropdown field (that is you can't ask them a question and
> get a free-form answer... although there is a text box labeled "Full
> description" but you can change that label to whatever you want, so that
> might be a workaround).  Outside of that, it does allow you to approve
> bookings and email confirmations and that sort of thing.  If you're curious
> about setting it up, I have a video series on how to put it on a Debian
> based server:
> https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD9kY5Nr-lSOjdqHQqX7a00LUQDnzdnym
>
> What I like most about MRBS is you can hack the code and give it some of
> your own customizations.  If you're comfortable with PHP and MySQL you
> could probably build your custom question fields and store user answers in
> the MySQL database.  I don't think it would be super difficult to add a
> table column in the MRBS database and edit the PHP/HTML to add a custom
> question field on the booking page that takes the user's answers and stores
> them in the new table column.  It's a little extra development work at
> first, but once it was set up I've not had to spend much time
> troubleshooting and maintaining it.  I certainly wouldn't say it's the most
> robust booking system, but we've been using it for over a year now and it
> has served our purposes well.  I guess the best part about it for me has
> been that it's really easy to edit the code to make it do things the system
> didn't initially do.
>
> Jeremiah
>
> On Tue, Dec 7, 2021 at 5:45 AM Roberts, Spencer William <
> [log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Kayla,
> >
> > At Pitts Theology Library, we previously used OpenRoom (
> > https://www.linuxlinks.com/openroom/), a free tool developed by Ball
> > State University Libraries. It was a cost-effective solution for many
> years
> > (mostly before my time here).
> >
> > We then switched to Springshare's LibCal (
> > https://www.springshare.com/libcal/), which has a higher cost (i.e. not
> > free) but more options and a better interface. It also reduced our
> systems
> > maintenance load because we were already using other Springshare tools
> like
> > LibAnswers, LibGuides, and LibStaffer.
> >
> >
> > Best,
> > Spencer Roberts, PhD
> > he/him/his
> > Systems and Digital Scholarship Librarian
> > Pitts Theology Library, Emory University
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 12/6/21, 12:10 PM, "Code for Libraries on behalf of Reed, Kayla" <
> > [log in to unmask] on behalf of [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >     Hello!
> >
> >     We are looking for a free (or low-cost) booking system for a library
> > space. We need to be able to add custom questions and we need to be able
> to
> > approve before it is added to a calendar.
> >
> >     Calendly ALMOST works, but you cannot approve before an event is
> added
> > to a calendar.
> >
> >     Any recommendations would be highly appreciated.
> >
> >     Sincerely,
> >     Kayla Reed
> >     Discovery, Systems and Digital Strategy Librarian
> >     Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
> >
> >
>
> --
> Jeremiah Kellogg
> Systems Librarian
> Pierce Library
> Eastern Oregon University
> [log in to unmask]
> (541) 962-3017
>